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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24673819">The Host - Rogue Seeker</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KHGIBLETT/pseuds/KHGIBLETT'>KHGIBLETT</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Host - Fandom, The Host - Stephenie Meyer, host - Fandom, soul host, stephenie meyer - Fandom, the host sequel, the seeker - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, The Host - Freeform, the host sequal, the seeker - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:13:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,894</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24673819</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KHGIBLETT/pseuds/KHGIBLETT</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She's rogue, lost and completely enamored with the Humans. Worse still she is my dearest friend in the entire world. Should I side with her and join the humans or should I do my duty as a seeker and  turn them all in. Could I end the life of my dearest friend in order to do my duty as a seeker?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Melanie Stryder &amp; Wanderer, blazing star &amp; malek</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Cry for Hel[</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Chapter One</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Cry for Help</strong>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>My life began with singing, the singing rose and fell in tone and seemed to shift around constantly. As I slowly came too I listened to the strange sound and a memory that was not mine told me that it was singing, or something else, I wasn’t quite sure. I was laying face down on what felt like a hard surface, there was a groove for my face to rest comfortably inside and as I lay there I felt myself slowly wake up.<br/>The effects of the sedative were wearing off and I felt myself curious about everything around me. My eyes were squeezed shut though through my eye lids I could see faint light. I became aware of my hands which lay to my side and the moment I noticed them my hands clenched together. A memory that wasn’t mine told me that these things were meant for holding objects and interacting with the world around me.<br/>There it was again, singing and it was louder now. I tried my best to ignore it, the strange sensations I was feeling was distracting enough and I could feel myself settling into this new body. Then it came unbidden and at once I found it overwhelming. I had expected this of course but it didn’t make the memory that wasn’t mine any less shocking.<br/>I was in the back seat of a vehicle, we were driving through a city and I remember looking up at the tall buildings overhead. I saw a sleek metallic craft shoot across the sky before abruptly turning in the air and it shot off upwards at speed, a moment later it was gone. In the seats in front of me I saw two humans, one was a tall man with greying hair and a neatly trimmed beard while the other was a woman with burly brown hair and startling blue eyes. The woman looked at me, she reached back a hand and smiled at me.<br/>‘Mummy what is it like?’ I asked.<br/>The sun glinted off of a glass building and bathed the car in brilliant light for a moment, I saw my mother’s eyes reflect the light oddly for a moment. Both my parents had those strange reflective eyes that I never had, I saw it sometimes when it was dark and I remembered the first time I saw those strange reflective eyes, we were in the back garden at night playing camp and the fire had reflected oddly in their eyes.<br/>‘I don’t know sweaty but it is the right thing to do.’ My mummy said and gave me a recurring smile.<br/>‘Will I still be me?’ I asked.<br/>My mother looked at my father, a strange expression crossed their faces before she squeezed my leg harder.<br/>‘That depends on the soul but trust me it will be better when you have it done.’ She had said.<br/>‘Ok mummy.’ I had said and sat back.<br/>‘Please!’ The singing voice said loudly and it was enough to snap me out of my memory.<br/>Involuntarily my eyes snapped open and sharp white light entered my eyes, I winced in pain and covered my face with my hands. My hands had an odd pulsating sensation that a memory told me was called pins and needles. I groaned as I pushed myself up right, my eyes slowly adjusting to the sharp light in the room.<br/>I swayed unsteadily on the bed, feeling like my head was unusually heavy and for a long moment I honestly considered laying back down. I looked around and found myself in a plane white room, the walls were white and seemed to glow ever so slightly. Nearby was a metal medical table with a transparent cylinder rested on it. Somehow without knowing why I knew that that cylinder once housed me and I found that shocking, before I knew it I was reaching behind my head, I had long curly brown hair that covered my neck, I pushed it aside and felt my neck. There was a thin line there from where they had opened up my skin and inserted...<br/>‘Please don’t. I just want to live.’ The singing voice shouted.<br/>I stopped what I was doing and looked at the door, I felt my heart racing and I didn’t understand why. My mind was having trouble understanding the words of this song, it was strange, discordant and the words did not seem pleasant in the least. The singer was getting closer to my room and I found myself gripping the edge of the cot uncontrollably.<br/>Suddenly the door burst open and a man in his late fourties burst in, crimson blood coated the back of his neck and he looked odd. It took me a moment to realise that he was something my mother called “shaggy” though she had used the term to refer to a stray dog we’d seen once. He had an unkempt beard and messy black hair, he looked at me wide eyed before slamming the door shut.<br/>The loud noise made me flinch and there was a terribly long time when our eyes met. He looked at me and I looked at him.<br/>‘May I help you?’ I asked.<br/>He looked at me with an expression that I would later learn was horror. Then that was when I remembered a word that my mothers mother had once learned, the man had not been singing he had been screaming. He backed away from me as though I was deceased and I looked at him curious.<br/>‘Are you alright? Do you need assistance?’ I asked.<br/>He had tears in his eyes when he reached the nearby window, he got to work opening the window.<br/>‘You’re just a child.’ He said, his jaw wavering as he slid the window open.<br/>A moment the door burst open and two men in black suits ran in. They tackled the man to the ground, one using his weight to push the man down while the other grabbed the man’s hands and bound them.<br/>‘Please don’t! I just want to live! You don’t have to disguard me! Please just let me go! Please don’t kill me!’ The man screamed in panic.<br/>I looked at him, my head cocked to one side. Before I knew it I pushed myself off the cot and I wobbled on the spot, I grabbed the cot for support before addressing the men in suits.<br/>‘Excuse me. What is this man?’ I asked.<br/>‘Stand back, he’d dangerous. He’s a human.’ One of the men in black said.<br/>I let out an involuntary gasp and staggered away from the man, my eyes wide with fear.<br/>‘Do not fear his body is defective and we will dispose it.’ The other man in black said lifting the human up and pulling him out of the room.<br/>‘Please no! PLEASE!’ The human screamed.<br/>I watched the human being dragged away and I could hear him continue to scream for several minuets after he was gone. I was silent unsure of what I’d just experienced.<br/>Three Days Later<br/>‘And how did it make you feel?’ My comforter asked me. She was a woman in her early twenties with blond hair that had been tied into a bun and deep brown eyes. She wore jeans and a t-shirt that read “I ♥ Sydney” on it. I liked my comforter and she had specialised in first generation souls, a day after my birth I had learned that I was the first of a new generation of souls born on earth which had explained my lack of experiences from previous lives since I didn’t have any.<br/>‘I have questions that’s all.’ I said.<br/>She smiled and leaned forwards in her chair and smiled at me.<br/>‘Questions are good.’ She said.<br/>‘What would have happened if the human was let go?’ I asked.<br/>She looked taken aback and shifted uncomfortably in her chair.<br/>‘Humans are dangerous. They still live out there in the wilderness and they attack souls.’ She said and got off of her chair and looked out of the window.<br/>‘So he would have hurt people?’ I asked.<br/>She nodded.<br/>‘Possibly but it doesn’t matter, he is gone and no longer a threat to society.’ She said and smiled at me.<br/>I looked at her and tilted my head to one side.<br/>‘Ok I understand.’ I said and she smiled at me.<br/>‘So how is the body. You are six years old and this must be an exciting time for you.’ She said sitting down opposite me.<br/>‘I look forwards to further education yes.’ I said and looked out of the window.<br/>‘I have so much to learn.’ I said.<br/>‘Yes you do.’ She said.<br/>‘But I have questions too and they never stop. I think I am starting to bother my care takers.’ I said.<br/>She looked at me with a bemused smile.<br/>‘You are in all senses of the word a child. A new soul in a new body, this first life time will shape you for thousands of years to come. In a way I envy you.’ She said.<br/>‘Envy me? What is this?’ I asked.<br/>She paused and thought about it.<br/>‘Its an old human expression, it means to desire something that belongs to someone else.’ She said.<br/>‘If you want this body you can take it. I am sure there are other bodies out there for me to inhabit. I really don’t mind.’ I said.<br/>She looked at me mortified for a long moment before laughing.<br/>‘What?’ I asked.<br/>‘Nothing. Once you’ve been in that body for a week or so you’ll find that you don’t think of it as merely another thing but a part of you.’ She said.<br/>‘Ok I understand.’ I said and then paused.<br/>‘I have question. The humans...’ I said and she paused, giving me an uncomfortable look.<br/>‘Yes what about them?’ She asked and I could see from the expression on her face that she was uncomfortable with the direction this conversation is heading.<br/>‘The human he was discarded. What does this word mean?’ I asked.<br/>She looked at me and out of the window.<br/>‘The body is made unconscious and their body functions are shut down. Once their body is deceased we burn the body until it becomes ash.’ She said and she looked at my face, clearly measuring my reaction to her words.<br/>‘Why is that preferable to releasing him. Is there no way we could live in peace with the humans?’ I asked.<br/>She opened her mouth to speak before closing her mouth, she did this several times before standing up and walking over to me. She knelt down and looked me in the eyes for a very long time.<br/>‘I can tell that what you experienced is shocking but trust me it is better this way. The humans are very dangerous that is why we souls have liberated them, we have made them better and brought beauty where they brought only destruction. It is the right thing to do.’ She said.<br/>I looked at her for a long time before nodding. I believed her of course, why would she have any reason to lie to me, the concept of lies did not register in my mind because until then I had never knew of any logical reason not to be completely honest with anyone.<br/>‘Ok that makes sense.’ I said.<br/>‘Good now I think your parents are waiting downstairs. I know you like to call them care takers but it is polite to refer to them as your parents. After all your body is the body of their child.’ She said and patted my lap.<br/>I got up and made to leave but she placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me.<br/>‘Wait before you go we haven’t discussed your name.’ She said.<br/>‘My name?’ I asked.<br/>‘Yes this is a new body, a new life. You can choose a new name to go along with it too.’ She said.<br/>‘My care takers...’ I paused when she gave me a look.<br/>‘My parents I mean call me Emily so I will use that name.’ I said.<br/>‘Sounds good Emily, I’ll walk you out.’ She said and led me to the door. We made out way out of there and down a flight of spiral steps to a large waiting area with glass walls overlooking the park out front. Nearby my parents waited, they smiled at the sight of me and I walked over to my mother and embraced her. I had learned early on that physical contact was a sign of affection and family ties which was something that being these human hosts required.<br/>‘How are you doing?’ My father asked.<br/>‘I am well father. Could we get one of those chilled dairy treats on our way home?’ I asked.<br/>My mother laughed and patted my shoulder.<br/>‘The word is Ice cream and of course we can.’ My mother said and led me from there.<br/>‘Thank you comforter.’ I shouted back and waved at my comforter as we left.<br/>‘Good luck.’ She said.<br/>3 Years Later<br/>The school bell rang and everyone got up, they quietly put their books in their backpacks before filing out of the room in order. I was nine years old now and as I slid my books into my bag the teacher approached me, he was a broad shouldered man who was clean shaven and had short cropped balding black hair.<br/>‘Emily before you leave there is something I wanted to discuss with you.’ He said.<br/>‘Yes mister Star Seen what is it?’ I asked.<br/>‘You had shown an interest in human history and I have this for you.’ He said and presented me with a glossy white card that had a series of numbers written across its surface.<br/>‘What is it?’ I asked.<br/>‘It is a library card.’ He said.<br/>‘Why would I need a card to use the library?’ I asked and he chuckled.<br/>‘Humans used to use them in order to check out books. I found one in an antiques store and I thought you might like it.’ He said handing me the card.<br/>I took it and turned the card over in my hands, it was strange, odd and yet exciting at the same time. I didn’t know why but looking at it filled me with a strange sense. It was like I was touching something that an entirely alien species once used.<br/>‘Thank you.’ I said and gripped the card hard.<br/>He ruffled my hair and nodded towards the door.<br/>‘Your parents are probably waiting.’ He said.<br/>I smiled at him and before hefting my bag onto my back and leaving the class. I left the school and saw my mother waiting for me, she was leaned against a green car that I had learned was called an SUV.<br/>‘How was school today?’ She asked and I smiled at her.<br/>‘Mister Star Seen gave me this.’ I said holding up the library card and she looked at it perplexed.<br/>‘That’s a library card.’ She said and I nodded.<br/>‘Mother can we go to the library on the way home?’ I asked and she nodded.<br/>‘I am glad to see you take your studies so well.’ She said.<br/>The library was located near the center of my home town and it was an old wooden building with a large skylight that filled the entire library with natural light. The library had two levels and rows upon rows of book shelves, to one side there was large plush animals and a person dressed up as a lion reading a story to a group of younger children.<br/>‘Ooh story time. Come on lets have a listen.’ My mother said taking my hand and pulling me in that direction.<br/>If it had been any other day I would have been intrigued by the story of Liony and Togar the tiger but today wasn’t just any other day. I looked at the library card in my hand and a spark had been ignited in my chest, my heart raced with the idea of learning more about these humans. I had always been curious about how they lived before our arrival, though I knew that since the occupation had begun there were only minor chances to the human way of life there had always been something drawing me to them. If I was being honest with myself the humans fascinated me, they were so much like us and yet not us at the same time.<br/>‘Mother I want to look up history is that ok?’ I asked.<br/>‘Of course.’ She said.<br/>‘Thank you.’ I said and released my hand from hers.<br/>I made my way to the back of the library looking for the signs that read “History” or “Ancient civilization”. I soon found a book ladled “Ancient Greece”. I pulled it out of the shelf and opened it, there was mostly text but I flipped through the book until I reached a section that showed hand drawn recreations of ancient Greek people and their clothes.<br/>‘Beautiful.’ I said to myself when I saw the strange and yet fascinating styles of clothes there.<br/>I was drawn to another book and then another. I pulled aside books that had pictures and began to create a small pile on the floor. I found myself drawn to the architecture, styles and above all else the colours the ancient humans used to used.<br/>‘Emily?’ My mother asked.<br/>I was seated on a small stack of books and I had a large picture book in my hands. I had been looking at the images amazed and I couldn’t help but grin as I looked at her.<br/>‘Can I take these home.’ I said eagerly.<br/>‘That book or the pile?’ She asked.<br/>‘All of them.’ I said getting off the pile of books.<br/>She chuckled heartily and helped me pick up the books.<br/>‘Come on.’ She said.<br/>I followed her to the front of the library and watched as she handed the pile of books the clerk. The clerk was an elderly woman who wore a light blue sweater and she looked at me as my mother slid the books across the counter.<br/>‘It’s always good to see an eager learner. Maybe when you grow up you’d like to work in a library or become a scholar. We could always use fresh literary minds.’ The clerk said holding out a hand for me to give her the book I had clutched in my hands, in truth I’d forgotten it was there and I handed it to her.<br/>She scanned it and placed the books in several fabric bags before handing them back to us.<br/>‘Thank you.’ I said grabbing a bag eagerly and heading towards the door.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Dying of the Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter Two</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">The Dying of the Light</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>I learned everything I could about the humans and the library card had become a memento for me. After a few months I thought I’d lost it and had spent the day in a panic until I’d asked the teacher to let me go home early to look for it. Of course he’d let me go and I had found the library card under my bed. That weekend my parents had taken me to a jewelry store and had a silver chain necklace made for me with the library card connected to it as a kind of pendant.</p><p>‘An unusual request but here you go.’ The man at the jewelry store said and handed me the necklace.</p><p>I placed it on and beamed at him.</p><p>‘Thank you.’ I said and waved goodbye as we left the store.</p><p>That was one of my happiest memories and the next three years of my life would be the happiest I would ever experience. I excelled in my studies, I would spend hours every night learning about history and humans. More than once the teachers commented that I should become a historian and for the longest time that was what I hoped to become. I even started to call myself a historian in training and at least once a month I would ask my parents to take me to the museum in the nearby capital city of Sydney.</p><p>I now regret that more than anything else and I often think back to that last day before my life changed forever. It was a sunny day and in a way I wished it wasn’t, I wish that that day had been overcast or cloudy or something that would have belied the way the day would end.</p><p>We were driving back from the national history museum in the capital, my father was at the steering wheel, the window was open and he idly had an arm out of the window letting warm air rush into the car. I was seated at the back and looking out at the arid lands outside, on my lap was some books and 3D bookmark which showed dinosaurs stomping across the lands.</p><p>‘What’s that?’ My mother asked and I craned my neck to look ahead of us.</p><p>I saw a car a few miles ahead of us, the car was broken down and smoke issued from the front of the vehicle.</p><p>‘Someone has broken down by the looks of it. We will help.’ My father said.</p><p>Our car slowed to a halt as we neared them and I could see a man standing in front of a jeep. The man had shaggy blond hair and beard, he wore a simple jeans, a white t-shirt and had a denum jacket over the top. The hood of his car was up and he was leaned over it, trying to fix something, he was clearly in a hurry.</p><p>‘May I help you?’ My father asked as our car pulled alongside his.</p><p>The blond haired man almost jumped and I heard him say a strange word under his breath.</p><p>‘No! No I’m fine!’ The man insisted.</p><p>My father unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car.</p><p>‘I am no mechanic but I can call you one. It’s truely no trouble.’ My father said.</p><p>‘No no I can fix this please don’t worry about it.’ The man said, there was an odd tone to his voice, he seemed almost afraid of my father and he stepped away from my father as though my father was a coiled snake ready to strike.</p><p>‘Please I can help. Look why don’t you just...’ My father never finished his sentence as the blond haired man drew a strange black device that looked like a right angle tool. The blond haired man fulled the trigger on the strange device and there was a loud bang, the next thing I remember was crimson liquid splatter across the windows of the car.</p><p>I screamed and flinched in shock. My father stood there, a bloody hole where the back of his head had been, his knees buckled and he fell to the ground dead. I looked at my father’s body and I could see flecks of silver from within his bloody head, a pool of ever expanding blood covered the dusty road where he lay. I was so focused on my father that I hadn’t noticed the blond haired man get into the drivers seat of the car, he pointed the strange device I would later come to understand was a gun into my mothers face.</p><p>‘GET OUT!’ He shouted.</p><p>She glanced at me before getting out of the car, he kept a hand on the door and gestured for me to do the same. He looked at me and a shocked expression crossed his face, I think that this was the first time he’d noticed me. I was numb as I exited the car, all the books I’d had on my lap scattered across the ground and the moment I was out of the vehicle the man put the car in gear and drove off, the doors to the car flapped open before eventually slamming shut.</p><p>I watched him drive off in utter shock, I was horrified by what had just happened and in that moment I honestly felt like this was some kind of horrible dream. It all felt so surreal to me and I stepped forwards as though to make for the car again, that was when I stepped in something wet. I looked down and saw my father laying there motionless, my eyes teared up at the sight of him laying there. I heard my mother crying in grief but I couldn’t take my eyes off my father.</p><p>My knee’s buckled and a moment later they hit the gravel covered road hard, I winced as gravel bit into my exposed knees but I didn’t care. With trembling hands I turned my father over so I could see his face, he was still warm and his eyes had a shocked expression while on his forehead there was bloody hole. I began to cry as I held him to my chest.</p><p>‘Father n...no!’ I cried, tears flowing from my eyes and dripping across his bloody face.</p><p>I could feel his blood soak into my dress but I didn’t care. I held his head to my chest, clutching him close and weeping out aloud. Somewhere along the line my weeping turned into loud sobs and my sobs turned into an agonised scream. I clutched him closer to me and screamed, letting out the mounting grief and emotions that welled up in my chest.</p><p>I felt so many things all at once and it felt like all these emotions were overwhelming me. I was trembling and screaming all at once, I felt like I wanted to curl up into a ball and hide from the world while at the same time I wanted tear myself apart. In that moment I wished I could have been the one who died, then perhaps I would not have to endure his awful terrible pain. I wished that I could burry myself in the earth and just stop existing altogether.</p><p>I wept for hours, holding him still while help came. My mother had forgotten her phone in the car and we’d had to wait for another car to drive past. I remembered the horrified expression on the face of a couple when they saw me, they would have seen a twelve year old girl sobbing and clutching my father’s body while blood stained my light blue dress. After that it wasn’t long until emergency services came, they pulled my father’s body out of my hands and placed him on a stretcher while seekers wearing black suits came.</p><p>There was three seekers and they questioned my mother for several minuets while one of them approached me. She was a tall woman with short cropped hair and for a moment I’m mistaken her for a man. I sat on the road side, I had my arms wrapped around my knees and I looked at my fathers blood on the road nearby.</p><p>‘Hello are you alright?’ She asked and reached out a hand, she placed it on my shoulder and I looked at her blankly.</p><p>I’d stopped crying now and as I sat there I just felt so many eratic emotions flow through me. I honestly had no clue how to feel, I was hurting, in shock and above all else I just wanted to go to sleep. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was convinced that if I went to sleep, when I woke up my father would be alive again. I looked at her and I shook my head.</p><p>‘Don’t worry, we will find the human and when we do I will ensure justice is done for your fasther.’ She said.</p><p>I looked at her puzzled.</p><p>‘Justice?’ I asked having never heard the expression before.</p><p>‘Its an old human saying. We seekers use the term sometimes when we loose one of our own to the humans.’ She said.</p><p>I looked at her wide eyed.</p><p>‘Seekers die! But you are our heroes. You protect us from all the bad things in the world.’ I said.</p><p>She smiled and patted my shoulder.</p><p>‘I wish that was true, we are as the old expression goes “only human”, there is only so much we can do.’ She said.</p><p>‘Human?’ I questioned and looked at the blood on my hands.</p><p>‘Is it worth being human when they do this. I’ve decided that once this body expires I will leave earth, maybe go to a more civilized world. I don’t want to be like them.’ I said, my eyes watering as I began to cry.</p><p>She wrapped an arm around me and patted my shoulder. I sobbed into her side for a very long time before I became still, she moved away from me and pulled out her wallet. She handed me a card which had a number and email address on it.</p><p>‘I know you have your comforter for these things but there are some discussions that only someone who has suffered these kinds of tragedies can understand. If it ever gets too much for you or perhaps you feel like you just need to talk email me ok.’ She said and stood up, she dusted herself off and took a step away from me.</p><p>I looked up at her in awe, she looked so confident and calm. She glanced back at me and gave me a steady look.</p><p>‘Be safe ok. You are the next generation and we need people like you.’ She said before walking off.</p><p>I watched her go confused as to what she could possibly mean. I looked down at the card in my hand and for the first time in my life I wondered if there was another path for me.</p><p> </p><p>The next week was one of the strangest in my life. We buried my father in a cemetery, a man I’d never seen before gave a speech about it being an especially tragic day when a soul dies and then my father’s coffin was lowered into the ground. I looked at the coffin, all I could think was that my father was both the soul and the body. In my mind I could not distinguish my father from the soul that controlled the body, to me it seemed as though both were one and the same.</p><p>I remember that I kept thinking how could they be different. I had only vague memories of my body before I entered it and even though I knew that this body would die one day I just couldn’t imagine me stop being me. I wondered if when I finally left this body if I would change. Would I enter a new host and suddenly find myself a new person. I wondered at what point the me from the body ended and the me from the soul begun. I wondered if I was all soul or all body or somewhere in between.</p><p>Wind gusted over me blowing my hair loosely over my face, my mother gripped my shoulder and snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked around and was honestly shocked that everyone had already left. I looked at the grave and was surprised that it had been filled up already.</p><p>‘Do you need more time?’ My mother asked.</p><p>I turned to look at her and saw that she was wearing a black dress, she had tears in her eyes but she was clearly trying to be strong for me. I got up and walked over to the freshly placed earth, I knelt down and ran my hand through the earth.</p><p>‘Goodbye.’ I said.</p><p>I got up, straightened my trousers and we left together.</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">4 Months later</span>
</p><p> </p><p>Life had returned to a new kind of normal. After the funeral I had given up all my human history studies stating that “I don’t feel like that anymore” and as usual everyone was very supportive. I didn’t return to school until I felt emotionally ready and my comforter from Sydney had moved to my home town so I could see her daily.</p><p>‘Emily there is something I need to discuss with you.’ My comforter said to me one day.</p><p>We were in her officer/temporary apartment, it was located down the street from my school so that I could visit her every day after my classes. I turned from the window to look at her.</p><p>‘What is it?’ I asked.</p><p>‘I have been talking to seeker Dustcloud and she has informed me that the human who...’ She trailed off for a long moment before continuing.</p><p>‘Well they’ve found the human and he’s been given a soul. He appears to be stable and he has requested to meet you. He wants to apologise for what happened.’ She said.</p><p>I froze, unsure what to say, do or even think. This was the body of the man who murdered my father for no other reason than my father wanting to help, yet at the same time my logical mind said that there was no reason not to meet him. The soul inside the body didn’t do the terrible act and was in no way responsible for it.</p><p>‘Why does he feel he needs to apologise?’ I asked at length.</p><p>My comforter shifted a little.</p><p>‘When an adult human is given a soul there are sometimes old memories, feelings and guilt’s that can surface. I’ve been discussing this with his comforter and we believe that it might be helpful for the healing process if the two of you meet.’ She said.</p><p>I felt horrified, the last person I wanted to meet was my father’s killer. Yet at the same time I knew it wasn’t my father’s killer. I knew that this was just a soul looking for help dealing with their emotions. My heart was racing and I breathed hard. My comforter noticed this and she aproached me, she placed a hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes for a very long time.</p><p>‘I will tell him you’re not ready. There is no shame in it so please don’t feel compelled to do so.’ She said.</p><p>I shook my head.</p><p>‘No I want to do this. If I’m going to be a seeker then I will need to be strong. I want to meet him.’ I said.</p><p>She recoiled away from me in shock.</p><p>‘A seeker!’ She exclaimed.</p><p>I opened my mouth to speak and realised that this was the first time I’d actually voiced the desire that had been growing in my chest for so long.</p><p>‘Whatever happened to wanting to be a historian?’ She asked.</p><p>‘I think that being a seeker is better.’ I said and turned to look at the school.</p><p>‘There are so many people in this world that need protecting. Humans are dangerous, irrational and above all else they hurt people. I don’t want anyone else to feel the hurt they caused me and my mummy.’ I said.</p><p>My comforter looked at me perplexed but not for the reason I thought.</p><p>‘What?’ I asked.</p><p>‘You said mummy?’ She said.</p><p>I looked at her wide eyed when I realised that I did, I never used that term and the moment it had been brought to my attention a vivid memory came to my mind. I was five years old and playing in a park.</p><p>‘Mummy!’ I exclaimed and embraced my mother.</p><p>She had been away for a few days and it was the first time I’d seen her in all that time. I remember running over to her, embracing her and holding her tight. She looked down at me, running her hand through my hair and smiling. The next thing I knew the memory shifted and it was late at night, I heard my parents talking downstairs and their conversation was loud, loud enough to wake me. I headed downstairs quietly and saw my parents in the kitchen, my father paced while my mother sat on the table with broachers laid out in front of her.</p><p>‘It’s the right thing to do.’ My mother said.</p><p>My father shook his head.</p><p>‘Its not a must though. I’ve heard stories of other families who keep their child human and it works out.’ He said.</p><p>‘So what happens then, our daughter grows up human. It would be like keeping a wild animal in the house. Do you remember what it was like when we first colonised? We lived constantly in fear of being caught. I won’t have our daughter living in fear of us, its fine now because those couples haven’t chosen to put souls in their children yet but I’m sure they will. Besides do you want our daughter always afraid that a seeker will get her. No this is what is right and best.’ My mother said.</p><p>He shook his head.</p><p>‘I love Emily the way she is. Look I know these bodies are unlike anything we’ve experienced before, they are filled with these feelings that make me feel like I’m loosing my mind at times but there is one thing I know and that is how I feel. I love our daughter and I won’t want her to change.’ He said.</p><p>My mother placed a hand on his arm. I didn’t know why but my eyes watered as I watched them talk.</p><p>‘We are souls and this is what we do. How will our child live in a world where she is a disadvantage and when she died what then. If she has a soul a piece of her will always live on even when her body doesn’t.’ She said and held his arm.</p><p>‘We are more than just the sum of our experiences and it would be wrong for an entire lifetime to end when a body expires. A soul will ensure our daughter always lives on and look at this.’ She said picking up a broacher and opening it.</p><p>‘Esha Morning Dew has decided to be a mother, I’ve asked and she has agreed to give one of her newborn cells to our daughter. Just imagine a new soul, the first generation born on earth given to our daughter. Everything she experiences will be new and she will have very little in the way of original memories to draw on.’ She said.</p><p>He looked at her and embraced her.</p><p>‘Ok then. We’ll do it when she turns six.’ He said.</p><p>‘It’s for the best.’ She said and he nodded.</p><p>‘It’s for the best.’ He repeated.</p><p>He looked up and there was a moment when he saw me, my head peeked around the doorway of the dining room, he didn’t say anything as I ran back up to my bedroom.</p><p>‘Are you alright?’ My comforter asked.</p><p>I looked at her surprised at the sudden memory and nodded.</p><p>‘Yeah...Yeah I’m fine. I think it would be a good idea to meet that man.’ I said.</p><p>She nodded and stood back up.</p><p>‘I’ll make all the arrangements then.’ She said and looked at the school.</p><p>‘Your lunch hour is almost up. Better get back to class.’ She said.</p><p> </p><p>
  <span class="u">Next Saturday</span>
</p><p> </p><p>Me and my mother were in the kitchen preparing dinner when the door bell rang, I pulled of my apron and placed it on the counter.</p><p>‘I’ll get it.’ I said.</p><p>‘Emily are you sure?’ My mother asked, a concerned look on her face.</p><p>I smiled and nodded.</p><p>‘I’m fine don’t worry.’ I said and I walked over to the door.</p><p>I opened the door and was not at all ready for what came next. Even though I logically knew who was at the door and why he was here, I wasn’t ready for the feelings that accompanied what happened next. I opened the door and saw the man standing there; at first I didn’t recognise him. He had neat blond hair and was clean shaven where before he’d had messy hair and a scraggly beard. He was dressed in the black suit of a seeker and besides him was the tall seeker who I’d previously thought was a man. At the sight of the blond haired man my eyes watered as a vivid memory of him shooting my father came to my mind.</p><p>I clasped a hand over my mouth and my eyes watered. It was a shock to see him standing there so calm and I had half expected him to look just like he had when we met him on the road side, I had expected him to wear that same denim jacket and to have the same gun in his hands that he’d shot my father with.</p><p>‘Emily Darkwater are you alright?’ The female seeker asked.</p><p>I wiped my tears and nodded.</p><p>‘Yes I am alright. Please come in.’ I said and welcomed them inside.</p><p>Our home was small; it only had two bedrooms upstairs, a living room and a joint kitchen/dining room. My mother smiled at the newcomers as she placed a jug on the table alongside some glasses.</p><p>‘You’re early.’ My mother said and smiled at them.</p><p>‘My colleague here was eager to come.’ The female seeker said.</p><p>The man stepped forwards and held out a hand for my mother to shake.</p><p>‘My name is James and it is a pleasure to meet you.’ He said.</p><p>My mother shook his hand and nodded for me to do the same. I approached and held out a hand gingerly to the man, he took it and shook my hand for a moment before taking a seat. I was surprised at how my mother didn’t seem to react to the man; she acted like everything was ok when I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to hit him and above all else... a terrible image entered my mind and I recoiled away from the image. Why was I so angry at him, it wasn’t his fault, he was an innocent soul who hadn’t hurt my father yet I felt so strongly towards him.</p><p>Then I realised that my hands were clenched into fists and I was glaring at him. He noticed this and got up from the table.</p><p>‘I apologise I shouldn’t have come. I seem to be distressing you.’ He said getting up and making for the door.</p><p>At once guilt filled my heart and I ran after him. I grabbed his hand to stop him.</p><p>‘No! It’s ok. Please sit me and my mother have made a casserole that is very tasty. Please.’ I said.</p><p>I looked at me and I could tell that he wanted to say something more.</p><p>‘I know it wasn’t me but I need you to know that I am sorry for what happened. I have his memories and I know that he is sorry too. I panicked and did it without meaning to. I’m unsure if it makes it any better but that is how it is.’ He said.</p><p>We locked eyes for a long moment before I nodded. I brushed my hair back and tied it into a bun; this was something I did unconsciously when I didn’t know what to say.</p><p>‘I know it wasn’t you but I forgive you anyway.’ I said.</p><p>‘Thank you. It means a lot.’ He said and walked me back over to the table.</p><p>We sat for a while eating together, I quickly noticed how the woman kept touching the man’s arm every now and then when she laughed. It was near the end of the meal and I was putting away the dishes into the dish washer when I turned to them.</p><p>‘Are you two a couple?’ I asked.</p><p>The woman looked at me wide eyed before laughing.</p><p>‘James and I had engaged in relations before his body succumbed to age. When this body became available I asked him to inhabit it so that we could continue our investigation into the humans.’ The female seeker said.</p><p>‘This body does not know much; he was a loner and has had only fleeting contact with other humans out there. To be honest I’m beginning to think that there are only a few hundred or perhaps in the worst case there are few thousand of them scattered across all of Australia. Hopefully soon the humans will be eradicated and maybe then we won’t need seekers anymore.’ He said.</p><p>‘I look forward that day.’ The female seeker said.</p><p>‘Can anyone become a seeker?’ I asked and all conversation stopped. I felt all eyes fall upon me and the female seeker looked at me for a very long time before speaking.</p><p>‘Being a seeker is not a calling for everyone. It requires us to go against our base nature as souls. You have to learn to kill, lie and worse to think like a human. I know people talk highly of us but this is not that kind of life and it is certainly not easy.’ The female seeker said.</p><p>‘I don’t want to be a seeker because it’s easy. I want to be a seeker because it’s the right thing to do. My parents once stood at this table discussing whether or not to give their daughter a soul and they decided to do so, not because it was easy but because it was the right thing to do. That is why I want to be a seeker, if I can save even one soul from dying then it will be worth it.’ I said.</p><p>There was a conviction in my voice that I didn’t know I possessed. The seekers exchanged a look before looking at my mother.</p><p>‘There is always the seeker academe in New York. Your daughter seems determined enough, maybe she should try out for the entrance exam.’ The female seeker said and spared me a smile.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Tests</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter Three</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Tests</span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>I had just turned thirteen now and the seeker trials were in a few days. Me and my mother stood at an airport with our boarding passes in hand, the line moved orderly ahead and it wasn’t long until we handed out boarding pass to the woman at the desk. She checked the pass then smiled at us.</p><p>‘You’ll be in seats A 22 and 23, enjoy your flight.’ She said tearing off the end of the pass before handing them back to us.</p><p>I shifted my backpack on my back and we heading into the tunnel. The tunnel that connected the airport was short and before entering the space ship I could see it. The ship looked similar in shape to human vehicles called airplanes but it was only similar in its most vaguest shape. This craft was sleek and chrome silver, it had a no visible windows on the outside and as we entered the craft I was surprised to see that the on several placed the walls had become transparent near the seats. All the seats were large and comfortable, we made out way to our seat and sat down. My mother tapped the wall besides us and it became transparent giving a view of outside, yet I knew that from outside no one could see us.</p><p>It wasn’t long until everyone had boarded and when they had holographic screens activated in front of each seat. I smiled at the sight of it, I knew that our species was capable of some truely amazing feats but to see holograms was truly amazing and I knew that space ships was one of the few things that showed our advancement.</p><p>‘Ladies and gentlemen. We are about to fly to New York city, the trip will take approximately twenty five minuets and the weather at our destination is good so there is no need for delays. Once we have taken off please feel free to move about the cabin and snacks are readily available at the front and rear of the ship.’ The captains voice said and while he spoke an animated display of the ship activated showing our expected journey as well as blue prints of the ship with snack locations.</p><p>I watched out of the window as the ship pulled away from the airport, we traveled across the tarmac onto a runway before accelerating away at speed.  Despite the acceleration we didn’t feel any hint of g-force and I knew that inertial dampeners made sure we felt none of this. I watched as we shifted and the world outside tilted, very quickly the world fell away from us and the buildings became smaller below us. Then the ship hummed and everyone on board began to feel pressure across their body.</p><p>‘What’s that?’ I asked.</p><p>A moment later my question was answered as we shot into the sky at speed. The world outside fell away at speed, in moment the city of Sydney was replaced my clouds and a moment later we were leaving earth’s atmosphere.</p><p>‘WOW!’ I gasped with a grin when I saw the blue green planet shrouded in clouds below us. I saw something bright above it and for the first time in my life I saw a sun in a sky of utter blackness, it took me aback to not see the sun in a sky of blue.</p><p>A moment later there was a ding as the seat belt light switched off, yet dispite this very few people unbuckled their belts and merely remained seated. I got up and head headed towards the front of the ship where there was a larger viewing area. There I saw another girl my age, she was leaned against the transparent wall looking down at the world below with a grin. She was taller than me and had long black hair with slight freckles on her face, she looked at me and I saw that she had black eyes.</p><p>‘Its truely beautiful.’ She said and looked at the planet below us.</p><p>I stood next to her and looked down at the world.</p><p>‘And its ours to defend.’ I said.</p><p>She looked at me let out a chuckle.</p><p>‘What?’ I asked.</p><p>‘Let me guess you’re going to the seeker academe?’ She asked and I nodded.</p><p>‘Well I hope you get in. They need newbie’s we an attitude like you.’ She said.</p><p>‘Newbie? You make it sound like you have already gotten in?’ I asked and she nodded.</p><p>‘Being a seeker was my calling in my previous life and its my calling in this life too. It will be interesting to see some old friends with these fresh eyes.’ She said looking at her hand and flexing it.</p><p>‘So what is it like being a seeker?’ I asked and she shrugged.</p><p>‘I wouldn’t know. I made a mistake and accidently ended the life of my host before I could complete my first year. Like you I’m starting fresh.’ She said and held out a hand for me to shake.</p><p>‘I’m Blazing Star.’ She said and I shook her hand.</p><p>‘I’m Emily Darkwater.’ I said.</p><p>‘It’s a pleasure to meet you Emily.’ She said.</p><p> </p><p>I spent the rest of the trip talking to Blazing Star about the academe and we even walked out of the airport together. We talked as my mother get a rental car and as we aproached the car I paused to look at her.</p><p>‘Star where are your care takers? I thought they would be here?’ I asked.</p><p>She grinned at me and stepped away from the car.</p><p>‘You never asked once about the entrance exam did you?’ She asked and I shook my head.</p><p>‘Why would I? That would give me an unfair advantage when I did the test.’ I said.</p><p>She grinned even wider, she paused to pull a lolly pop out of her pocket, she pulled the wrapper free and placed the lolly in her mouth.</p><p>‘This was the first test and you passed.’ She said.</p><p>I stood there open mouthed and in shock.</p><p>‘Your next text is the lie. I lied to you once you have two days to figure out what the lie was.’ She said and pulled a lolly pop from her pock and tossed it to me.</p><p>‘Good luck.’ She said and walked away.</p><p>I stood there for a several moments watching her leave, I was too stunned at what had just happened to even think let alone act. At once thousands of questions entered my mind, what if I’d stayed seated and what if I hadn’t spoke to her. Would I have failed automatically? Then there was the whole matter of the test, she lied to me and without even a single change in her tone or facial expressions. I’d never once been lied to in my entire life and for her to do so without any hint of deception floored me.</p><p>‘Emily are you alright?’ My mother asked.</p><p>I turned and nodded, a strange desire to solve this mystery filled my heart.</p><p>‘I know we said about getting something to eat but lets go to the hotel. I need to work on this puzzle.’ I said.</p><p>We checked into a hotel overlooking central park and I spent the next two days working on the puzzle I’d been given. I committed everything she said to memory and wrote it down. I looked up lies online and found only old no longer active web links that were clearly a hold over from pre-occupation days.  Before I knew it two days had passed and the whole journey to the academe I was reviewing notes.</p><p>‘Are you any closer to figuring it out?’ My mother asked, she glanced at me as I sat in the back seat, papers everywhere and I fumbled through them. I shook my head in annoyance.</p><p>‘I have three different possible solutions but I’m not sure which is the right one.’ I said.</p><p>She reached back and placed a hand on my knee.</p><p>‘You’ll figure it out. I have faith in you.’ She said.</p><p>‘Faith?’ I asked, this was a new word I didn’t understand.</p><p>‘Oh...it’s an old human expression, its kind of like trust but with a bit more love I guess. I cannot really explain it unless you’ve experienced faith before.’ She said and I looked at her.</p><p>‘Thank you.’ I said and looked at my papers.</p><p>We arrived at a black building located north of the New York city, the building was surrounded by a large estate that had tall trees, floral gardens and a fountain out front. The building was made from black stone and it looked somewhat imposing upon first glance. I quickly pushed my papers aside, got out of the car and straightened up.</p><p>‘Are you ready?’ My mother asked and gave me a one arm hug.</p><p>‘Yeah I’m ready.’ I said and headed inside alone.</p><p>The doors opened automatically as I approached and I found myself in a large hallway with Blazing Star casually leaned against a statue of three seekers in black suits. Like the statue she too wore a black suit and she smiled at me as I approached.</p><p>‘Figured it out yet?’ She asked.</p><p>I thought about it and of the three possible solutions that came into my mind. I closed my mind and trusted in myself to know the right answer.</p><p>‘The lie.’ I said.</p><p>‘Yes which one?’ She asked.</p><p>‘The lie was the lie. Everything you said was true except from the part where you said you lied, that was the lie.’ I said.</p><p>She laughed derisively and shook her head.</p><p>‘No it wasn’t.’ She said.</p><p>My heart sank, suddenly I wondered if I was wrong this whole time. Was it her name, was it her death and return to the academe, or was this another test? That was when I knew my solution.</p><p>‘This is a third test?’ I said though my statement was more of a question than anything.</p><p>She looked at me and her face because deadly serious.</p><p>‘You’re in.’ She said in an almost casual tone.</p><p>‘What?’ I exclaim.</p><p>‘A seeker needs to know when to stick to their guns, even when their truth is questioned. You were right. The only lie I told was that there was a lie but most people would panic and attempt to change their answer but you didn’t. You stuck to your answer and that is why you are in, tell your care taker who’s waiting for you the good news and join me inside. Your new calling begins now.’ She said.</p><p>Uncontrollably I embraced her grinning.</p><p>‘Thank you.’ I said.</p><p>‘No this was all your doing.’ She said.</p><p>I turned and ran for the door, excitement welling my heart. I ran outside and almost leapt onto my mother. I squeezed her heard and buried my face into her chest, tears flowed down my cheeks and I must have looked sad because he patted my back.</p><p>‘It’s ok. We can try again next year.’ She said.</p><p>I pulled away from her and wiped my tears.</p><p>‘I got in.’ I said.</p><p>It took her an awe fully long time to smile and for the first time I wondered if perhaps I was doing the right thing. This wasn’t the first time I’d experienced hesitation from people as I moved ever closer to my calling as a seeker. In fact I had found it odd that this calling even required a test, normally when a seeker found a calling they worked towards it and eventually settled in that calling. This calling seemed somehow different and at odds with soul society and it was reactions like this that made we wonder if I was doing the right thing.</p><p>‘I’m proud of you and congratulations.’ She said and I could see the sadness in her eyes.</p><p>I squeezed her harder and there was an honest moment where I never wanted to let her go. Then eventually I pulled myself away from her, I reached into the car to grab my backpack.</p><p>‘I will call you.’ I said.</p><p>She nodded and wiped the tears that formed in her eyes.</p><p>‘I’ll miss you.’ She said.</p><p>I felt like I’d been punched in the gut, it wasn’t until she said that that I realised wouldn’t be seeing her tonight. For the first time in my life I wouldn’t be having dinner with her or saying goodnight to her before bed. Until now she had just been an integral part of my life and even though I knew I wanted to join the academe, I never once thought that I would be separated from her.</p><p>I pulled away from her, my heart heavy with the weight of the separation. I brushed the tears that welled in my eyes away and headed for the door.</p><p>‘I love you.’ I said and turned to leave.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Strike</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Chapter Four</span> </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Strike</span> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>We moved in formation, each one of us bearing a rifle in our hands. It had been three years since I joined the academe and I was sixteen years old now. I had grown up so much in that time,  my curly brown hair was longer now but I always kept it tied into a bun while others told me that my green eyes seemed to sparkle, they were highlighted by the reflective layer at the back of my eyes. As I’d aged I had gained freckles too which lined my nose and cheeks though none of that was visible behind the two lines of black on my cheeks.</p><p>Blazing star was at the head of our formation and she held up a hand to stop our advance. We stopped behind the cover of an old garbage cart, there was worn spray paint on the side of the cart and the three of us pressed ourselves against it for cover. I saw Blazing Star look at me, her eyes glinting in the moonlight which was our only source of light in the darkness of night.</p><p>‘Emily you scout ahead.’ She waved a finger in the air in a circular motion.</p><p>I looked at her wide eyed, my heart was pounding in my chest and I was sure that more than anything else she see the panic written across my face. Two hours ago we had been asleep in our dorms and then an alarm had rung out, the next thing we knew we were being rushing into a waiting helicopter, given our gear while on the flight here and then deployed here without a word as to what our mission was. Only Blazing Star knew the mission and as I looked at her I couldn’t help but nod and obey her.</p><p>Keeping at a crouch I moved around the garbage card and saw that ahead of us was an old warehouse, inside I could see a dim light that was barely visible through the windows of the building. I sprinted towards a nearby set of rusty oil drums and ducked behind it. I checked my weapon and saw a small LED display that showed it was fully loaded, I knew it was even without looking but checking helped calm my nerves.</p><p>I glanced around the oil drum and saw a parked van that I could use as cover to get around the warehouse. I dashed for the van and skidded across the gravel as I reached it, I pressed myself against the van and felt my heart pounding in my chest. In the near silence of the night the sounds of shifting gravel seemed as loud as a bell being rung. I pressed myself hard against the van almost as though if I pushed hard enough I could pass right through it. This of course was nonsense but the thought of wild humans out here finding me, a scared sixteen year old with a gun terrified me.</p><p>I listened for the longest time but heard nothing. I let out a sigh of relief and slowly began to move, I made my way to the other side of the van before sprinting down the side of the warehouse. My heart drummed in my chest and up ahead I saw orange light spilling out from an open doorway up ahead. I slowed to a crawl and crouched, I raised my rifle and held it to the ready. I neared the doorway and listened, all I could hear was the crackling of a fire. I risked a glance inside and I saw a small fire in the middle of an empty warehouse.</p><p>I raised my rifle to look down the scope and I realised that my hands were trembling. I was shocked at how scared I was, I excelled in simulations and in class training. I could do all my drills without a problem but this, being out in the field where there were real humans to harm me terrified me. I kept imagining humans dressed like prehistoric niadertols hiding in the trees or in the bushes. In my minds eye I saw them wielding clubs or spears and ready to pounce like savages.</p><p>Something moved and it was once snapped me out of my thoughts. The movement came from up ahead and it sounded like gravel crunching under boots. Crouching as low as possible I moved past the open door and headed towards the back of the warehouse. I pressed myself against the wall of the warehouse as I’d been taught and I peeked around the rear of the building. My heart stopped when I saw them, there were three in total. Two males and one female.</p><p>The female human had dark skin and was casually reclined against a crate, she had one knee bent with an arm casually resting on it. With the other hand she gripped a riffle against her body. She was looking at the two men who paced back and forth, each one had a weapon in their hands and my training told me that the weapon was something called a shotgun.</p><p>Like a shadow I backed away from there and made my way back to the others as fast as I could. I reached them and I was surprised to see that Blazing Star as well the other academe seeker Ryan still waiting for me.</p><p>‘Report.’ She whispered.</p><p>I gulped before answering, I was out of breath, not from running over here but from the sheer fear that gripped me.</p><p>‘There are three of them. Two men and one woman. All armed I think I saw two shotguns and a rifle.’ I said.</p><p>Blazing Star regarded me and then she turned to Ryan.</p><p>‘Pincer formation alpha three. Ryan you go with Emily around the north side, I’ll take the south. Move when I make the first move and remember shoot to stun not to kill.’ She said and adjusted something on her rifle without even looking.</p><p>Me and Ryan did the same, we switched from kinetic rounds to tazer rounds before moving out. Ryan followed right behind me as I made my way back the same way I’d come. I found myself moving more confidently this time and it wasn’t long before we reached the end of the warehouse. We pressed ourselves against the wall and waited for Blazing Star to make her move. I knew that she was on the other side of the building yet in that moment I would give anything to be able to see exactly where she was.</p><p>Not being able where she was or what she was doing filled me with uncertainty and panic, I knew that if I could see her moving around the other side of the warehouse then I would be a lot calmer. I knew that if it was Ryan who was on the other side of warehouse I wouldn’t have felt as strongly about this but Blazing Star was my best friend, she was more than my friend she was more like a mentor to me. She had opted to retake the entire first year of her studies which of course she’d completed without any hassle and she’d used the spare time to help me learn. I admired her so much and the thought of her getting hurt made a pit grow in my stomach.</p><p>‘What is that?’ One of the human men said.</p><p>Oh no! I thought to myself and I heard the gravel shift as he began to move. There was a terrifying moment when I was sure he was moving towards me. Then I realised that he was moving away from me.</p><p>
  <strong> <em>BLAM!</em> </strong>
</p><p>There was a loud bark of a shotgun being fired and I flinched as though struck. In an instant all my worst fears came to life, Blazing Star was surely dead and a moment later there was another gunshot that made me flitch a second time.</p><p>‘Its one of them! I saw the glint in her eyes.’ The man said.</p><p>Ryan grabbed my arm, tugging me to run from there. I looked at him in shock, the last thing I thought about doing was running. Too many thoughts and feelings were running through my head. Then I moved, I remember moving before my mind realised what I was doing. I leaned out from the cover of the warehouse and I saw them. All three humans were on their feet and looking down the other side of the warehouse.</p><p>Ryan let out a gasp as I raised my rifle and there was an odd moment where the three humans turned to look at me. A shocked expression of their faced and then I fired. My training took over and I fired three shots into them. Each shot hitting a different human and at once they fell to the ground, their body trembling with convulsion before they became still.</p><p>‘Emily run!’ Ryan hissed.</p><p>I just stood there, my rifle loose in my hands as I looked at them. I looked at him and saw his wide eyes glint in the moonlight. I dragged my rifle across the gravle as I walked around the warehouse and looked at what I was sure was Blazing Star’s dead body. Instead I found her casually leaned against the wall of the warehouse, a lollypop in her mouth and barely suppressed grin on her face.</p><p>‘Well now that was unexpected.’ She said.</p><p>Before I knew it I was embracing her.</p><p>‘You’re alive!’ I exclaimed.</p><p>‘Yes and you took us down all by yourself.’ One of the men said from behind me.</p><p>I let out an involuntary shriek before aiming my rifle at them. Then man stood up and helped the other humans off of the ground. He dusted himself off and approached me, a hand outstretched.</p><p>‘I am seeker Kyle, these are my colleagues Bright Pestle and Midnight’ He said.</p><p>‘You’re seekers?’ I gasp and he nodded.</p><p>‘Yes we are and you did well continuing the mission despite the apartment death of your colleague.’ The female seeker called Bright Pestle said. She approached me and shook my hand vigorously.</p><p>Ryan approached us caughtiously, not quite sure what is happening.</p><p>‘Academe seeker Ryan you followed orders well but unfortunately you will need to pass another test before we can move forwards with your education.’ Seeker Midnight said.</p><p>Ryan looked down and away, clearly disappointed but Midnight took Ryan’s face in his hands before looking him in the eyes.</p><p>‘There is no shame in taking time to learn. We do these tests because humans are unlike us, they force us to make irrational choices and to think in ways a soul normally wouldn’t. Emily here passed because she took initiative and acted while we were distracted. If this was a real situation, three wild humans would have no trouble finding and killing two teenage souls, by taking the initiative it can lead to not only success but also to your own survival and that above all else is why we train you so hard.’ Midnight said holding out a hand for Ryan to take.</p><p>‘I understand, thank you.’ Ryan said and shook the seekers hand.</p><p>Seeker Kyle turned to me, his eyes reflecting off of the firelight in the warehouse.</p><p>‘Now that you have passed this round your training is about to get a lot harder. Are you up for it?’ He asked.</p><p>I hesitated for a moment, my body was still tingling from the shock of finding out that Blazing Star was still alive and that this whole thing had all be another test. I swallowed my fears and nodded.</p><p>‘Yes I’m ready.’ I said.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Conversation with a Human</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter Five</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Conversation with a Human</span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>I came in low and delivered a quick series of jabs with my fist into his side. He spun away from me panting but brining up his own fists ready to strike, I danced away from him just as he delivered a punch into the place where my face had been a moment earlier. Like me he was dressed in tight fitting black vest and shorts, also like me he was sweating hard, his clothes had patchs of wetness around the chest and back. I was eighteen now and he was twenty two, he had dark skin, a shaved head and was very handsome. He looked at me smiling and I barely suppressed my own smile as I came at him again.</p><p>This time I rushed at him, feinted to one side before leaping to the other. I came around behind him and leapt onto his back, I wrapped my arms under and around his arms while using my weight and momentum to drive him face first into the training mat. He struggled for a moment before tapping the mat three times to signal that he was done. I released him, got up and held out a hand to help him up.</p><p>‘That was a good fight.’ He said and I was a little taken aback by his use of words.</p><p>‘Fight?’ I asked and got to work tying my hair that had gotten loose during sparing back into a bun.</p><p>‘Well the more accurate term would be sparing session though there was a time humans used to fight like this as a form of sport and entertainment.’  He said.</p><p>I looked at him horrified and then I remembered reading books about gladiators who were forced to fight to the death in arena’s for the entertainment of others. The thought made me shudder and he noticed the horrified expression on my face.</p><p>‘I hope I did not offend you with my choice of words.’ He said and I shook my head.</p><p>‘No seeker I am not offended.’ I said as we left the sparing area and headed out into corridor outside.</p><p>We were about to split up, each one heading towards our own changing rooms when I spotted a familiar face at the end of the corridor. Blazing Star was running towards us with a tablet in her hands, she had grown up too and was now a beautiful tall woman of nineteen years old. She reached me panting and handed me the tablet.</p><p>‘That case you’ve been working on, the doctor. We’ve spotted him.’ She said handing me the tablet.</p><p>I took it and tapped the screen to play the image. It showed a recording from a CCTV camera, there was a man in his late fifties wearing a leather jacket, he had messy long salt and pepper hair while he sported a short cropped beard. I watched as he snuck down an alleyway, he constantly cast about for any signs of anyone before reaching a back door, using a crow bar and a hammer he broke the lock before entering the building.</p><p>‘He’s breaking into a healing facility, no doupt to steal medicines.’ She said.</p><p>‘How old is this footage?’ I asked and Blazing Star grinned at me.</p><p>‘Five minuets.’ She said.</p><p>I beamed at her, we’d been working on the Doctor case for months now and this was exactly the break we needed.</p><p>‘Seeker Omari I’m sorry but I have to go.’ I said before turning and leaving.</p><p> </p><p>Fifteen minuets later we were arriving at the healing facility in one of three black helicopters. It was night time now and beams of light swept over the city from the helicopters as we aproached. I had changed along the way into my black suit and I had a pistol holstered at my hip. Oposite me was Blazing Star who reviewed the data on the tablet, this was an idle habit of hers and I had found out years ago that it was her way of filling time before a mission began, she’d once said it was alot better than sitting there worrying about what was to come. I reached out a hand and squeezed her leg.</p><p>‘You ok?’ I asked and she nodded.</p><p>‘Yes its just that the Doctor is a big case. They say he could be linked to at least fifty other humans. Just imagine once we get him we could be brining in fifty new humans, that’s fifty less people we need to worry about attacking souls.’ She said.</p><p>‘Yeah I just hope this goes as planned.’ I said looking out of the window as we circled the building before coming to a halt in the air.</p><p>‘We’re ready to deploy seekers.’ The pilot said.</p><p>I nodded him my thanks before I slid open the door, at once the sound of the propellers and the rushing of wind filled the compartment. I pulled the rope ladder free, it unfurled below us, then without hesitation I gripped the rope ladder and began to descend. I remembered the first time I did this I was terrified but now doing so didn’t give me a pause in the slightest.</p><p>I reached the street below, I drew my side arm and flash light, I held them close together as I approached the building in a croach. Behind me the other twelve seekers discended and quickly made their way after me. I reached a short wall that ringed the medical building and a moment later Blazing Star along with the others fell into formation around me, each one had their pistols raised.</p><p>‘What do you think. Formation Gamma of Bita?’ Blazing Star asked.</p><p>I glanced over the wall at the building, it was made from white stone and all the lights were off, I could see a flashlight moving around on the second floor.</p><p>‘Delta, I’ll go around the back while you take the front.’ I said.</p><p>Blazing Star gave me an appraising look, she had a barely suppressed smile on her face and I found it odd that in a dangerous situation like this she was so happy.</p><p>‘What?’ I asked.</p><p>‘I’ll tell you later.’ She said and turned to the others.</p><p>‘You heard Emily. Move out.’ Blazing Star ordered and nodded for me to head around back.</p><p>I turned and sprinted away from the others, I made my way to the back the building where I quickly found the broken back door. I entered and switched my flashlight on but kept it low to illuminate the steps as I began to ascend. I quickly made my way to the second floor and had to duck back down the stairs as a beam of light washed in my direction. I crouched there, switched off my flashlight and pocketed it in one smooth motion.</p><p>Then I heard the floor boards creek as he approached me, I closed my eyes and listened.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>CRACK!</em>
  </strong>
</p><p>The door in the front of the building was blown inwards, a moment later the other seekers charged up the steps. I heard the human curse and run over to grab a bag, I heard bottles fall from a table and smash against the floor before the other seekers ran up the stairs in the front of the building.</p><p>‘Shit!’ The human exclaimed and ran towards me.</p><p>I stepped out from the cover of the staircase and pointed my pistol into his face.</p><p>‘Please don’t resist.’ I said and with my free hand I slid my flashlight out of the belt holster and shone it into his face.</p><p>He stood there wide eyed, a bag in one hand and a shotgun with a flashlight strapped to the end in the other hand. He froze there wide eyed while behind him the other seekers burst into the room, each one aiming pistols at him, he glanced at them and knew that he was completely cut off.</p><p>‘You’ll never take me.’ He said and levelled his shotgun at his own head but before he could pull the trigger I had moved.</p><p>In a flash I grabbed his shotgun arm, pushed it upwards just as he fired. The loud shot reverberated across the room and made everyone flinch. In the same motion I drove my pistol into his chest and fired. He shuddered as the tazer round struck him and he visibly convulsed as he fell over backwards. I gripped the shotgun hard and yanked it out of his hand before he hit the floor.</p><p>‘I am sorry that it came to this. I did not want to hurt you.’ I said.</p><p>He looked at me while still trembling, he moved his mouth as though wanting to say something and I saw tears in his eyes before he passed out. It gave me no pleasure to have done this, in truth I hated causing pain, I hated suffering and above all else I hated the look of betrayal in their eyes when we brought them in. I know that hate is a strong word and you need to understand that I only use this word because of how deep my feelings are regarding this matter. You need to understand that I only do this because it is the right thing to do and despite everything that followed, despite all the terrible events that would unfold in my life. You must understand that despite hating these things I did, at the time I honestly thought I was right to do so.</p><p>I watched as other seekers bound him and carried him away. Blazing Star aproached me and patted me on the shoulder.</p><p>‘Good job.’ She said.</p><p>I regarded her unsure what to think or even say. That look he’d given me before passing out had affected me, like the looks humans always gave me affected me. She seemed to notice this and she shifted slightly, she reached into her jacket pocket and removed a lolly pop.</p><p>‘Here.’ She said.</p><p>I took the hard candy, removed the wrapper and placed it in my mouth.</p><p>‘You said you’d tell me once this is over. What was it that you wanted to say?’ I asked.</p><p>She popped a lolly in her own mouth before wrapping an arm around my shoulder.</p><p>‘You would do well as team leader. Normally I’m team leader but see the way you took charge here has convinced me that you should take the roll.’ She said as we left.</p><p>I stopped, the implication of what she said were dire.</p><p>‘You’re leaving?’ I asked and she nodded.</p><p>‘There are probably millions of humans out there hidden all across the world. I’ve been offered a post in Kolkata but I didn’t want to leave unless I knew my people were in good hands. Now I see that they will be.’ She said.</p><p>Without thinking I found myself embracing her, I squeezed her tightly and my eyes threatened to well with tears.</p><p>‘I’ll miss you.’ I said.</p><p>She smiled at me and removed the lolly from her mouth before waving it at me.</p><p>‘Remember me when you have one of these ok.’ She said.</p><p>We left together and headed back to the seeker headquarters. As usual the human was asked a few questions before being processed for soul implantation. I made my way down to the room that housed the human, I walked past several seekers watching through a one way mirror into the room where the human sat hand cuffed to a table while opposite him sat Seeker Omari who had since changed into a black suit.</p><p>‘Seeker Emily we are almost done here.’  A female seeker said as I approached the room.</p><p>‘I just have a few questions if that is alright?’ I asked and the three seekers observing nodded.</p><p>‘Of course he is all yours.’ One of them said before knocking on the two way mirror.</p><p>Seeker Omari got up and left the room, he stopped when he saw me and hung his head.</p><p>‘He isn’t giving anything up and he seems quite belligerent I doubt he will make a good host.’ Omari said.</p><p>‘Let me see what I can get out of him.’ I said and patted his shoulder before heading inside.</p><p>The human man looked at me in shock as I stepped through the door, I closed the door behind me and walked over to the chair before sitting down. He looked at me wide eyes and horrified as I sat there. Yet in truth I was far more afraid of him then he was of me, my heart was racing and I fought hard to keep the flood of emotions churning within me from reaching my face.</p><p>‘Hello.’ I said.</p><p>‘You’re a child. What are you sixteen or seventeen?’  He asked.</p><p>‘My host body is eighteen years old though my soul body is twelve years old.’ I said.</p><p>He looked even more alarmed by the second fact.</p><p>‘If you are twelve years old then you shouldn’t be brought into this. You’re the one who took me down but you are a child. This war is not one children should be fighting in.’ He said.</p><p>I cocked my head to one side unsure what he meant by war.</p><p>‘War? This word means conflict, disaster, death right?’ I asked.</p><p>I let out a deep breath before shaking his head.</p><p>‘What?’ I asked.</p><p>‘You call yourselves souls, the word soul is supposed to inspire the sense of majesty, beuty and divinity. Yet all you bring is misery.’ He said.</p><p>‘Misery? Where is the misery? Since the occupation the murder rate across the planet has become zero, crime rate has become zero, poverty has become zero. We have removed conflict, discord and brought peace to planet earth. For the first time humanity works together, united in the persuit of a greater good. Isn’t this better than the earth you had before our occupation? You humans polluted the atmosphere, caused the extinction of countless species and worse you murdered each other for resources which in truth were never as limited as you had tricked yourselves into believing. I have read your histories and I know what this world was like before we came, it is a lot better now.’ I said.</p><p>He looked at me for a very long time before speaking.</p><p>‘You would hold us responsible for decisions of our leaders? It was politicians, kings and corrupt CEO’s who made humanity suffer. If you know our history so well than you will know humans begged for change, we fought for it and yet the billionaires and elite of the world were the ones who caused every woe you talk about. You act like we are responsible for the actions of a few.’ He said.</p><p>‘We are each responsible for our own actions. Humans failed themselves and their planet, so we souls made it better. We fixed what you broke.’ I said.</p><p>He sighed and shook his head.</p><p>‘Its like talking to a machine. So tell me machine what will you do to me now?’ He asked.</p><p>‘We will place a soul with strong will inside you. We will find out everything you know and bring the other humans you are affiliated with into soul society. Once you have joined us you will want no more for food, medicine and never know strife again.’ I said giving him a warm smile.</p><p>‘At what cost?’ He asked.</p><p>‘Cost? We have no means of gains and losses.’ I asked.</p><p>‘You claim to be benevolent and I even heard one of you speak once about your philosophy of experiences. That you are here to experience our lives yet you don’t realise the cost. We humans built everything, every convenience you take for granted, the beds, chairs and even this table. Every food you enjoy and every sport you watch on tv. Those are things we invented. You seek to be just like us yet you have taken the humans out of a human world and the planet is a worse place for it.’ He said.</p><p>As I sat there it struck me.</p><p>‘You are not pleading for your life? Why? Other humans always plead but you don’t.’ I asked.</p><p>He looked at me, his eyes grave.</p><p>‘I am pleading for your life! You are a child and I am trying to save you! Please don’t do this for me but do it for your own soul. Your true soul, not that thing in your head but the infalable, eternal soul that lives within you. You don’t have to bare whiteness to this trajedy.’ He said.</p><p>At once I stood up and staggered away from him. The idea that a human was pleading for me shocked me to my very core and I was sure my shock was written across my face because looked at me with a look of understanding.</p><p>‘It’s not too late. You can be saved.’ He said.</p><p>I turned and left the room.</p><p>‘You can be saved!’ He shouted as I slammed the door shut and walked away.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Rogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter Six</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">The Rogue</span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Bzztt! Bzztt!</em>
</p><p>My phone vibrated on the bedside table. I awoke sleepily, grabbed the phone before flipping it over and was at once was blinded by the light on the screen. I sat up on the bed and waited for my eyes to adjust to the screens brightness before reading the text message. The moment my eyes read the words I became wide awake, I swiped the phone and at once called headquarters.</p><p>‘I got your message I’m coming now.’ I said and got out of bed.</p><p> </p><p>Two years had passed since I’d become a team leader of my seeker team and I had grown into the position well. The responsibility had forced me to mature greatly and I had flourished in the role. I had changed into a black leather jacket while underneath I sported a simple white shirt over black jeans.</p><p>I drove across the city at speed in my black corvette and wasn’t surprised that the streets were empty. Souls seldom had any need to stay out this late at night and the only people I saw were late night workers who waved at me as I drove. I reached the high rise building where seeker headquarters was located, I parked in front of the building before getting out and running inside. I saw an empty desk and knew that there would have been a time in human history where security guards would have sat there, though we had no need for them of course.</p><p>I entered an elevator and on the journey up I tied my hair behind me. I looked at myself and wondered if I should have stopped to put on something a little more formal before coming down here. The doors slid open and I saw that the office was down to a skeleton crew of three, the other seekers nodded at me as I entered and seeing them all properly dressed made me feel out of place. I brushed aside the negative thoughts as I entered the office of cheif seeker O’brain. He was a light skinned man with a neat beard and curly brown hair. He stood at a large computer screen and regarded me as I entered, now I knew I should have took the time to get properly dressed but I pushed aside the negative thoughts and aproached.</p><p>‘You’ve found her?’ I asked.</p><p>‘Possibly.’ He said and tapped the large screen, at once a recording played of Blazing Star entering her apartment building. The recording skipped forwards, it showed her leaving with a bag over her shoulder, she cast about nervously before getting in a car and driving off.</p><p>‘We have a positive ID that that is her.’ He said.</p><p>I let out a sigh of relief.</p><p>‘She’s been missing for three months I was so worried. How old is this recording?’ I asked.</p><p>‘Six hours.’ He said.</p><p>‘SIX HOURS!’ I exclaimed, my voice audible to even the seekers outside who looked in through the glass walls of the office concerned.</p><p>‘My apologies cheif.’ I said.</p><p>‘It’s not a problem.’ He said and regarded the screen.</p><p>‘Blazing Star didn’t look in danger. Perhaps she is taking a sabbatical and has forgotten to inform the office.’ He said.</p><p>‘Sabbatical?’ I asked.</p><p>‘We are each entitled to down time and a vacation every now and then.’ He said.</p><p>I nodded but then looked at the recording.</p><p>‘This is Blazing Star though. I’ve known her the entire time I’ve been a seeker. Please sir may I peruse this, even if it is just to give myself a sense of ease. Ever since she went off the books I’ve been worried and I am afraid that it will affect my work.’ I said.</p><p>He regarded me before nodding.</p><p>‘You are just like her you know. Maybe you should take a vacation once in a while too, being a seeker might be your calling but there is more to life than work.’ He said.</p><p>I regarded him, unsure how to respond.</p><p>‘Once I know she’s safe then maybe I’ll consider it.’ I said.</p><p>He tapped the screen and dragged the recording from the screen to a tablet in his other hand. The recording was transferred and he handed it to me.</p><p>‘I thought you’d want to peruse this. All relevant data regarding this is on that tablet and I’ve arranged for your transportation already. The Kolkata office is awaiting your word.’ He said.</p><p>I couldn’t help but beam at him and my teeth were visible as I grinned.</p><p>‘Thank you sir.’ I said before taking the tablet and leaving.</p><p> </p><p>I left in a hurry and once inside my car I set it to auto-drive while I reviewed the data he’d collected. It wasn’t much and I rarely took my eyes from the screen as I hurried across the airport, got in the waiting ship and headed to India. I didn’t even look out of the window the whole flight, it wasn’t long before we were landing and sunlight filtered in through the windows at the front. I paused and tapped the wall beside me, at once afternoon sunlight filtered in through the newly transparent wall.</p><p>The first thing I felt when I left the ship was the heat and humidity. There was also a scent to the air that was akin to heated stone and spices. As I left the airport I found a brown skinned man in a white suit waiting for me while on the road behind him was an open backed jeep.</p><p>‘Seeker Darkwater?’ He asked.</p><p>‘Yes I, though I prefer Emily’ I said.</p><p>He took out a set of keys and tossed them to me, I caught the keys in mid air and he turned to fall in stride alongside me.</p><p>‘I am seeker Javed, I have been working for Blazing Star these past two years.’ He said.</p><p>I the driver’s seat and he got into the seat beside me.</p><p>‘Thank you seeker for coming out here. What can you tell me about Blazing Star before her disappearance?’ I asked as we drove away.</p><p>‘It started five months ago. We had just brought in a family of twelve humans, before processing them one of the humans had something to her that made her leave the station without a word. After that she started to act strangely until one day she just stopped showing up to work.’ He said and I handed him the tablet.</p><p>‘Have you see this?’ I asked and he nodded.</p><p>‘Yes.’ He said.</p><p>‘I’m sure something has happened but don’t worry I will find her.’ I said and he looked at me for a very long time before nodding.</p><p>‘She always spoke highly of you, now I see why.’ He said.</p><p> </p><p>On the edge of the city was an apartment block that overlooked a park. I made my way inside and ran up the steps two at a time, I drew my side arm almost on instinct and when a woman exited their apartment ahead of me she looked at me in shock.</p><p>‘Don’t worry everything is alright.’ I said as I moved past her.</p><p>I reached the apartment at the end of the hallway and turned the door handle. I was shocked when I realised the door was locked and I exchanged a concerned look with Javed.</p><p>‘Why would she lock it?’ He asked.</p><p>‘Lets find out.’ I said and smashed the door handle with the butt of my gun.</p><p>The two of us entered the apartment side by side, we swept out pistols from side to side in case there was any hostiles in here. I moved from room to room and checked it but there was no one here.</p><p>‘Clear.’ I said and a few moments later he repeated the same. We holstered our weapons and began to look around the apartment.</p><p>I opened some cupboards and found that they were almost empty save for a few boxes of cereal. There was a faint smell of rotting food from the unwashed dishes that filled the sink and black flies buzzed around the sink. I headed into the bedroom, I saw that the bed was unmade, at sat on it and began to check the bedside drawers and found nothing of interest.</p><p>‘Did you find anything?’ Javed asked.</p><p>‘No nothing. Look you head back to the office I’m going to stay here a while.’ I said.</p><p>He left and soon after the door closed a thought struck me. I remembered how Blazing Star used to like keeping a stash of lollypops in a box under the bed, it wasn’t a secret but she just liked having them close at hand. I lifted up the mattress and was shocked to find a book there with a sticky note on it that read “Emily”.</p><p>I reached down and picked up the book, I turned it over in my hands seeing that it was an old note book of sorts and I was sure that I’d seen her write in something like it back when we were at the academe. I pulled out my phone and was about to call the local office when I paused. I turned the book back over and looked at my name written there. I knew this was a bad idea but I put my phone away before opening the book.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Hello Emily</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m glad it’s you who found this.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Please don’t come looking for me. I am fine and I think that maybe I am better than fine.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m just exploring some options but I’ll give you a full report when I’m done.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Remember - I know you, I know you better than anyone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yours sincerely Blazing Star</em>
</p><p> </p><p>I read and reread the entry on the first page before flipping through the other pages which were all blank. I removed the sticky note, letting it fall to the floor before sitting back down on the bed. I sat there for possibly over an hour as the sun began to set. I kept thinking about last sentence, I flicked the book open and read again “I know you, I know you better than anyone” she’d written. I pondered her words and as the sun glinted in through the windows I saw that it looked like a fire. That was when inspiration struck me.</p><p>‘FIRE!’ I said.</p><p>I ran from there back into the kitchen and hurriedly looked through the drawers until I found a candle and match sticks. I placed the candle down, lit it before opening the blank pages of the book. Blazing Star was right, she did know me and she knew that I knew human history, this was how people used to hide messages in times long past. I held the pages over the head of the fire and looked in amazement as lines began to form on the pages.</p><p>I took out my phone and took photos of the images before flicking through the pages to get more hidden lines. There were five of them in total and each one was spaced out across the book, one done I placed the book down and began to review the images. It took me a while before I realised that it was a map, I grabbed my tablet and searched the internet for a map of the city and then compared my phone images to the map. I took me over five hours to find something that even remotely matched the first image and it wasn’t long after that when I found the last location. It showed an abandoned temple a few miles outside the city.</p><p>‘I’m on my way Blazing Star.’ I said to myself as I left.</p><p> </p><p>Exhaustion was getting the better of me as I drove across the city late at night, I’d only had a few hours of sleep since this whole day began and I was beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t have taken a nap on the bed in Blazing Star’s apartment before coming. I shook my head and continued to drive.</p><p>‘No I have to do this.’ I said to myself.</p><p>I reached the old temple and saw that it was covered in vines, nearby there was a smaller collapsed building that had a tree growing out of it while nearby there was a green shape hidden in the bushes that the lights from my jeep illuminated. I left the car running to give me light as I got out of the vehicle, I removed my gun and flashlight before approaching.</p><p>I swept my flashlight around as I aproached, of course I had heard of snakes and in the back of my mind I knew that there were tigers in this country too. As I reached the open doorway of the temple I wondered if I shouldn’t have called for backup, no I was being stupid. This was Blazing Star, my best friend in the whole world. Then I looked at the gun in my hand and I paused.</p><p>‘What am I doing?’ I whispered to myself.</p><p>I wanted to put the gun away but something in my gut told me to keep it raised. I kept the gun raised and continued inside, the temple was long since abandoned and plant life covered everything here. At the back of I found a fight of steps leading down and I headed down. It wasn’t long until I heard the sound of rushing water, I tightened my grip on my weapon and saw a metal door at the end of the corridor.</p><p>I reached the door and opened it slowly, inside was a living room with a crackling fire on one side, there was a couch facing away from me towards the fire. The room was dark and I could see other rooms off to the side hidden in shadow. I slowly crept inside and I froze when I saw a head rested on the couch, they were looking at the fire and hadn’t noticed me.</p><p>‘Blazing Star?’ I asked, my voice a whisper.</p><p>‘What the hell!’ A man exclaimed, he got up and staggered away from me.</p><p>My flashlight went up and illuminated his face, in that moment I realised the terrible truth that this was a wild human. He had a neat beard, curly black hair and medium brown skin. He was dressed in a simple t-shirt, shorts and his hands were bare. I switched my pistol to tazer mode and approached him.</p><p>‘Please sir I don’t want to hurt you. Get down on your knees so can...’ I never got to finish my sentence, a gunshot was fired and the next thing I knew my pistol was sent flying out of my hand.</p><p>I turned to look in the direction of the gunshot but the moment I did a fist connected with my face and sent me staggering back. The next moment I hit the floor hard, my head bouncing across the stone floor and I had to blink away stars that blured my vision. Instinctively I crawled towards my gun but a wet foot pressed my hand to floor. I looked up and saw Blazing Star standing over me, she had a pistol pointed at my face with one hand while she held a towel around herself with the other. Water dripped off of her across the floor and it was clear that she’d ran here from the shower.</p><p>‘Blaz...’ I started but she turned to the man.</p><p>‘Get the gun and the cuffs.’ She said.</p><p>The man ran over to my gun and scooped it up before running over to a nearby side bag. He rummaged through it and tossed her a pair of hand cuffs. She caught it with her other hand, risking the towel before crouching down, she grabbed my hands and cuffed them.</p><p>‘Blazing Star what are you doing?’ I asked.</p><p>She looked at me and for the first time in my life I saw fear in the face of my friend.</p><p>‘You figured it out. Did you tell the other seekers or are you alone?’ She asked.</p><p>‘Blazing...’ I started but she grabbed my chin and looked me in the eyes.</p><p>‘Does anyone else know you’re here!’ She exclaimed.</p><p>I looked at her eyes, each in turn before gulping back the pain in my heart. After months of waiting for news and about her, now I find that she is standing over me with a weapon in hand interrogating me.</p><p>‘I didn’t tell anyone. No one knows I’m here.’ I said.</p><p>‘Can we trust her?’ The asked and I looked at him.</p><p>‘I’m not human. I wouldn’t lie.’ I said.</p><p>‘You’re a seeker.’ He retorted and the implications bit me deep.</p><p>‘Seekers only lie when we have to. Its not something we do and certainly not to friends. Blazing Star answer me what is happening?’ I asked.</p><p>Blazing Star lifted me up and walked me over to the couch, she pushed me down before gesturing for the man to stand guard over me. He approached me and held my pistol at the ready to shoot.</p><p>‘I’ll get changed watch her.’ Blazing Star said before running off.</p><p>I looked at the human and an idea came to my mind, I had a possible way out of this but it would involve lying.</p><p>‘That won’t work on me.’ I said.</p><p>‘And why is that?’ He asked.</p><p>‘Those guns are gene locked, only a seeker can use it.’ I said.</p><p>He opened his mouth to speak and looked at me with an eye brow raised, then he grinned.</p><p>‘Well there’s only one way to know.’ He said and readied to shoot, suddenly I realised how stupid I’d been, the plan had backfired spectacularly.</p><p>‘DON’T!’ I shouted and squeezed my eyes shut.</p><p>He started to laugh and I looked at him, my cheeks blushed with the humiliation of it.</p><p>‘What?’ I asked.</p><p>‘For a seeker you’re a bad liar.’ He said.</p><p>I shifted on my seat and looked at him sternly.</p><p>‘So what is your plan here? Are you going to try and torture me for information?’ I asked.</p><p>He stepped back, a horrified expression on his face.</p><p>‘We may live like animals but we are not animals.’ He said.</p><p>‘Malik let me handle this.’ Blazing Star said walking back into the makeshift living room.</p><p>She was placing on a white shirt over jeans and to my shock she kissed the human before he walked away. I sat there open mouthed and in shock.</p><p>‘You and the human are...’ I asked.</p><p>‘He’s my husband.’ She said</p><p>I felt like I’d been slapped, instantly I felt like this wall all some surreal nightmare and I fell back into the chair wide eyed.</p><p>‘Star...what happened to you.’ I asked, my voice a hallow whisper.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter Seven - Where the wild things are</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter Seven</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Where the wild things are</span>
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</p><p> </p><p>I spent the night on the couch, my legs were bound and a hood was placed over my head. Blazing Star had sat next me and placed a comforting arm around my shoulder.</p><p>‘Friend I promise one day I’ll explain. Get some sleep and please don’t try to escape, we’ve set mines at the door.’ She said.</p><p>I turned my head to face her and through the cloth I could make out the vague shape that was her face.</p><p>‘Star what happened to you. Please it’s not too late.’ I said.</p><p>‘Too late for what? In all honesty it was too late the moment we colonised this planet. We wear human bodies but rarely feel what it is to be human, most of our kind are mindless drones that coast of the surface of true human emotion. Love is about as deep as our emotions go but have you ever explored what it is truly like to be human. They have emotions that I never experienced before on the home world.’ She said and I could hear her voice tremble.</p><p>‘Blazing Star... you are the best of us. How could you fall like this?’ I asked.</p><p>She tutted under her breath and rested a hand on my cheek.</p><p>‘They have awoken something in me that I didn’t know I needed and I truely hope that one day you will feel it too.’ She said and got up.</p><p>‘Star...’ I said but in truth I had no rebuttal for her, I felt too shocked at the turn of events to say anything.</p><p>‘Goodnight.’ She said and left.</p><p>‘STAR!’ I shouted after her.</p><p>There was no reply as she walked away. I heard her footsteps vanish and then the sounds of her getting onto a bed, I overheard whispered conversations from the room nearby but couldn’t make out the words. I sat there listening for a while until I heard snores issuing from the other room. I moved my head around but it was useless, I could barely see anything in the darkness behind me thanks to the sack over my head and I knew I couldn’t take it off thanks to the knot that had been tied to secure it in place.</p><p>I sat there concidering options for a very long time until I eventually lay down, I looked at the fire through the sack. At some point I must have fallen asleep because when I awoke the fire was out and a faint smell of smoke permeated the air. Sunlight shafted in from the open door behind me and I heard the ruffling of bags as they were packed.</p><p>‘Emily are you awake? I’ve made some eggs if you want them.’ Blazing Star said as though it was the most ordinary thing.</p><p>I sat up and looked around, I saw someone walking towards me and a moment later the hood was yanked off my head. Blazing Star looked at me and held out a plate with eggs on it.</p><p>‘Are you going to hand feed me?’ I asked gesturing towards my cuffed hands which had been bound by rope to my stomach.</p><p>‘No fighting ok.’ She ordered.</p><p>I looked at her, she was deadly serious and for the first time in my life I knew that another soul would kill me. I nodded and she untied me, I took the plate and eat up. The eggs were the first meal I’d had in almost an entire day and it wasn’t until I had the first bite that I realised how hungry I was. Pretty soon I’d finished up and turned around hoping she had a second round for me.</p><p>I saw Malek dressed in the same jeans and t-shirt from the night before. He descended the steps with a seeker riffle held idly in his hands.</p><p>‘Trucks loaded up, we can move out.’ He said and that was the first time I saw how muscly he was.</p><p>His bicepts were large and bulged as he moved his arms, I could see his pecks flex under his shirt. I had never seen a man with muscles like that before, few souls needed to endure expre physical exercise and merely kept a healthy weight. I’d only ever seen athletes and a few seekers have muscles like those. The sight of his body at once attracted me while at the same time horrified me, a man that strong was surely dangerous right?</p><p>He looked at me and I realised that I must have been admiring his body because he shifted uncomfortably. I immediately looked away and couldn’t help but blush, I sank down in the sofa and wished more than anything that I could put the hood back on my face. My heart was racing and I didn’t know if it was from embarrassment or something else. I crushed the idea at once, he was Blazing Star’s husband and... The thought of my dear friend marrying a human shocked me so much so that it overshadowed my embarrassment.</p><p>‘Come on we’re leaving.’ Blazing Star said tapping my arm.</p><p>I got up and she thrust a bag into my hands.</p><p>‘You’re carrying that.’ She said and gestured for me to follow them out.</p><p>We made our way up and out of the temple, in the daylight it looked radically different than it had during the night. Once there had been vague shapes everywhere that were now revealed to be collapsed or overturned furniture. I saw bullet holes in some of the furniture and in more than one place I saw old blood stains on the floor.  </p><p>‘What is this place?’ I asked.</p><p>‘Early during the occupation some priests took residents here and tried to hide out. When seekers came they fought back to the last.’ She said coldly.</p><p>‘So why do you stay here?’ I asked.</p><p>‘No one ever thinks to check a raided hideout twice. Its too obvious so everyone misses it. It’s a pit stop for us in the order.’ She said.</p><p>‘Order? Why are you telling me this, you know that I will report you the moment I return to society.’ I said.</p><p>Malek looked at me, his riffle traveling in my direction for a fraction of a second before he took the gun by the strap and slung it over his shoulder. He took his wife’s back pack and hurried ahead of us to a nearby truck which hummed idly. Blazing Star looked at me, a deeply saddened expression on her face.</p><p>‘He’s my husband. I love him more than anyone else in the entire world. You would really risk my happiness, our friendship over your self righteous quest to avenge your father.’ She said.</p><p>I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I looked at her open mouthed and without meaning too I dropped the bag in my hands to the ground.</p><p>‘How DARE YOU!’ I snapped, I fought back the tears in my eyes as I glared at her. In that moment I wanted to punch her and do a lot worse. The civility I’d felt my entire life vanished in an instant and race replaced by a burning desire to get physical in a wholely distructive way.</p><p>Oddly she smiled at me and stepped away.</p><p>‘That is the depth of emotion I was talking about.’ She said.</p><p>‘SHUT UP!’ I snapped and punched her across the face.</p><p>‘Hey!’ Malek exclaimed and ran at me with his rifle raised.</p><p>‘Honey don’t! It’s ok.’ Blazing Star said moving between me and him.</p><p>I clenched my hands into fists and I wanted to go at her again. I saw a gash on her cheek from where I’d struck her and there was a long pause as our eyes met, we did not need words to understand each other. I lowered my fists before picking up the bag. I followed them to the truck where I dropped the bag in the back before getting in the back seat.</p><p>Malek sat besides me and his rifle was left on his lap with the nozzle facing me, I was sure that this was a not so subtle warning for me to be good. Though my eyes were not on the gun, being this close to him filled my heart with conflict. As Blazing Star took the drivers seat and drove away all I could think about was his large biceps that were right next to me. I glanced at them and found that they seemed a lot larger than I remembered from earlier.</p><p>I could see his veins under his skin and saw his muscles flex as he moved his arms. I looked up and saw that he saw me looking. I glanced away at once, looking out of the window and wishing more than anything that I could stop thinking about those muscles, I had never seen muscles like those and I had a deep sensation in my chest to touch them, just to be sure that they were real. It seemed somehow unnatural too me while at the same time it awoke something deep within me, something primal.</p><p>No! I told myself and kept my eyes firmly focused outside. I tried to use my training and memorise the rout we took but try as I might I couldn’t get my mind to focus. I kept thinking about what Blazing Star had said and worse I kept thinking about her husband. What the hell is wrong with me?</p><p>Eventually I sat back and tried my hardest to relax. We drove for several hours into what seemed like back country, several times we made turns down tight gravel roads before coming out into main roads. Every time we passed through a town Malek placed a shawl over me before covering up his gun though no soul would even question three people driving through their town.</p><p>I most of the time we drove through down roads flanked by large jungle trees, I saw monkeys for the first time in my life. They came to our truck when we stopped for lunch, I threw half my sandwich at them and a group of small light brown furred monkeys fought over the morsel of food before ripping it into small chunks and running into the trees chirping.</p><p>‘I remember that they used to live in the cities before you guys came.’ Malek said conversationally and I realised that this was the first time he’d spoken to me in a while.</p><p>I turned to him unsure what to say, instead I just looked at my sandwich and continued to eat it in silence.</p><p>‘Yes that is the one good things souls did though. Could you imagine thousands of wild monkeys running around cities, a few are fine but the amount you humans used to let run loose is hazardous to your health. Just imagine the diseases they can spread, not to mention the mischief.’ Blazing Star said without facing me.</p><p>I could see her reflection in the door mirror, she had was applying a balm that came out of a tube, the balm looked like a thick lipstick but where it touched the wound on her face the inflammation visibly reduced. She turned to me after and held out the balm for me to take, she looked at the place on my cheek where she’d punched me the night before.</p><p>‘I am truly sorry about that. When it comes to Malek I get a little...’ She paused and took her husband’s hand, gripping it tightly.</p><p>I moved over to the mirror and I could see the bruise where she’d punched me, I twisted the bottom of the tube to extend the stick of balm before rubbing it against my cheek. The skin was sore at the point of contact but the more I applied the better it felt.</p><p>‘You know if he had a soul he would still be your husband. Then you can live in peace.’ I said handing the balm back.</p><p>‘You must see me as little more than a body right. A mindless animal with no will of my own.’ Malek said to me.</p><p>I looked at the gun in his hands.</p><p>‘Humans are dangerous.’ I said flatly.</p><p>‘Blazing Star give me the keys.’ He said and gestured for his wife to give him the keys to my cuffs. She looked at me and then at him before moving the keys from her pocket.</p><p>‘I trust you.’ Blazing Star said looking me dead in the eyes and placed the keys in his hands. He handed her the rifle before sliding the pistol out from her hip holster.</p><p>‘If you think I am little more than a body, a mindless animal.’ He said and held up the pistol. He removed the clip and began to slide out bullets. I could see the double rows of ammunition in the clip, the live rounds on one side and the blue tazer rounds on the other.</p><p>‘I won’t hand myself over because I already have a soul, I am a person and I have a right to live. If you don’t think I have that right then shoot me.’ He said and slid the clip into the gun. He then uncuffed me and placed the gun in my hands.</p><p>‘Emily don’t.’ Blazing Star said.</p><p>Before I knew what my body was doing I had moved the pistol in my hands, I gripped it two handed and placed the muzzle of the gun against his head. I was trembling and my heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I was sure it would burst free from my ribs. I hated live rounds and I had always made it a point never to use them, even during target practice I would always use the safe tazer rounds.</p><p>This had been Blazing Star’s doing, I remembered hearing how her previous host had died, she had been a teenage boy then, she had been so eager to learn that she’d taken a gun from the locker and had attempted the strip the weapon down with her eyes closed. She’d seen one of the teachers do it and had been eager to try it herself. She had told me that the last thing she remembered was hearing a bang as she shot hit her neck, then she remembered waking up in the body of a six year old.</p><p>Malek whispered something, I couldn’t hear him save for the faint passing of wind from his lips and the slight movement of his jaw. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the muzzle of the gun. I looked at Blazing Star who looked at me, she was imploring me to stop this. My head was dizzy, I felt like I was going to feint. My mind screamed at me to put away the gun and I was so so scared. My body was trembling as though it was my life on the line and then I remembered something the doctor had said, I remembered his imploring eyes as he’d said “I’m pleading for you”. Those words still haunted my dreams and all the thoughts, feelings and everything whirred around my head, it was like my mind was a storm of erratic thoughts, feelings and worse. Then I made the worst decision of my life, I pulled the trigger.</p><p>
  <strong>
    <em>CLICK</em>
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</p><p>The moment I did it the gun fell from my hands, I staggered away from him wide eyed and in horror. Tears began to flow down my cheeks and all I could look at was the ground, I slumped onto the road before looking up at him. He stood there, a slight smirk on his face and I saw the glint of metal in his hand from where he’d slipped the bullet out before loading the gun. I pushed myself away from them and buried my face in my hands, I couldn’t stop the tears from coming out.</p><p>Blazing Star knelt down besides me and held out a hand to me, I could tell she wanted to say something but it didn’t stop the guilt in my heart. In that moment I hated myself, even though Malek was alive it didn’t stop the guilt from consuming me, all I could think was that I killed this man and for no reason, worse I realised that I had become just like the man who shot my father for no reason.</p><p>They left me alone and packed up the lunch before getting in the truck again, Blazing Star stayed leaned against the door just watching me until I could pull myself together enough to get up. She helped me to my feet and didn’t say anything to me as she helped me into the backseat of the car. Something felt off as we drove away, it wasn’t until several minuets had passed that I realised two things, I wasn’t hand cuffed and also that Malek was in the front seat besides Blazing Star.</p><p>We drove for several hours in silence until night fell around us. They did not stop driving and the only light in the vehicle came from the cone of yellow light from the headlights. We were on a dirt road now and the truck constantly bumped with the unevenness of the road. At first the bumpy ride was really uncomfortable but after a while the rocking started to make me feel sleepy. I shifted to get into a better position when Blazing Star turned to look at me, she and her husband had switched places hours earlier and I could see the faint glint of silver in her eyes.</p><p>‘I am sorry.’ She said.</p><p>I was silent, I had no answer for what had happened and worse I still felt guilty as though I’d actually killed Malek. A part of me wanted to say that it was ok, but the idea of lying to another soul just made me feel worse. I wrapped my arms across my chest and looked at her.</p><p>‘Did you know he wouldn’t die?’ I asked.</p><p>She nodded, the only sign of the movement of her head was her silvery eyes shifting up and down in the darkness.</p><p>‘He did the same to me the first time we met.’ She said.</p><p>‘And what did you do?’ I asked.</p><p>‘It won’t make you feel any better to know.’ She said.</p><p>‘Tell me.’ I said.</p><p>‘I out the gun away.’ She admitted and she was right, it didn’t make me feel any better, in fact it made me feel worse. I wanted to change the topic so I looked around.</p><p>‘Why aren’t you blind folding me. You know that I have to report you when I get back, or am I your prisoner for life now?’ I asked.</p><p>‘You’re not cuffed and you are free to leave the car at any time. Just say the word and we’ll stop.’ She said.</p><p>I remembered reading an article once about how tigers and other species humans had endangered were now thriving thanks to the occupation. As I sat here I kept thinking that out there in the jungle tigers lurked just waiting to pounce the moment I got out of the safety of the car. Of course I knew that this was nonsense and that animals don’t attack for no reason, but knowing that didn’t help me feel any better.</p><p>We continued to drive through the night, I found the journey so monotonous that soon I was falling asleep with my legs tucked up besides me and using my arm as a pillow. At some point we came to a halt, I slowly awoke to the gentle swaying of the car around me, in the distance I could hear talking and as I lay there my head kept swimming in and out of consciousness until finally I remembered everything that had happened so far. I sat bolt upright  and looked around.</p><p>The truck was empty and I looked over my shoulder to see that the bags in the rear of the truck were gone. I looked around and realised that I was surrounded by thick jungle on all sides while ahead of the truck lay a small dirt road. At once I lunged towards the front seat and I quickly saw that the keys were missing, I scrambled to check the glove compartment and anything else that might be hiding them.</p><p>
  <em>BANG! BANG!</em>
</p><p>‘What are you doing?’ Blazing Star said and banged her hands on the window.</p><p>I saw that she had the car keys in her hands and I quickly got out of the car.</p><p>‘I was looking for the keys so I can escape.’ I said.</p><p>She held out the car keys for me to take, I reached out my hand for them but she pulled her hand away before I could take them.</p><p>‘There are at least twenty roads on the way back that will lead you deeper into the jungle and there is a very good chance that you will end up in the middle of the jungle and out of food, water and more importantly friendship. Are you sure you want this friend?’ She asked.</p><p>I considered it for a long moment before putting down my hand. I was beginning to wonder about that word “friend”, I was honestly starting to think that Blazing Star wasn’t my friend, not anymore. I shuddered when I realised what I was thinking, how could Blazing Star not be my friend, she was a soul and I am soul. Souls are friends with each other, we are civilized, kind and fare.</p><p>‘What do you want from me?’ I asked.</p><p>‘Come on were nearly there.’ She said and nodded up the dirt trail ahead of us.</p><p>I followed her reluctantly for several minuets as the trees suddenly fell away to one side. I was shocked to see that to one side of us was a vertical drop while ahead of us the path opened up revealing an entrance area to what looked to be a cave set in the side of a moss covered mountain. I followed her into the cave and was surprised to see a large circular stone door that was retracted inside the entranceway of the cave. I saw Malek there waiting for us and the moment we were inside he began to push the stone door back, I saw pullys and other mechanisms that allowed the stone door to slide back into place and I was sure that from the outside it would have just looked like the mountainside.</p><p>‘What is this place?’ I asked.</p><p>‘It’s an old military base.’ Malek explained and handed me a flashlight before handing Blazing Star one.</p><p>It was quite dark in here and the only light came from a dim glow down a tunnel ahead. We switched on the flashlights and continued to walk, led my Malek as we made our way down the tunnel. From far ahead I heard what sounded to be chattering and we reached a larger section of the tunnel which branched off to the right and left. There were several bags here which had been carried in from the truck and Malek lifted one up to me to take.</p><p>‘If you’re here you’re going to help.’ He said.</p><p>I took the bag before placing it over my shoulder, the bag was heavy and there were what felt like metal boxes inside the bag that dug into my back as I carried it. The others hefted the bags onto their backs and I felt out of place only having the one bag. They didn’t say anything as we headed further down the tunnel.</p><p>We traveled for almost half an hour while the dim light steadily got brighter until soon we were switching off our flashlights. We entered a large circular chamber with metal walls and a strange shaft with cables in the centre, in the centre of the shaft was a platform large enough to hold a car with several levers on the side of it. The light came from several small lamps in this room and Malek unloaded his bags onto the platform before switching off the lamps one by one. Using his flashlight he walked over to the me and Blazing Star who stood on the platform.</p><p>‘Blazing Star and Emily please use slow movements down there. I don’t want people getting scared around you two.’ He said.</p><p>I understood at once that there were humans down there and the idea of being exposed to them frightened me. I silently nodded and was sure he didn’t see me but he got to work activating the levers. Slowly we began to descend down the shaft, we descended for almost ten minuets and as we did I could hear a distant chatter which grew and grew as time went on. Eventually the shaft opened up into a large dark stone room and nearby was a large metal door with two humans holding shotguns standing guard.</p><p>At the sight of us they raised their weapons and one of them shone a flashlight in our direction, I looked away but not in time to stop the light from reflecting off of my eyes.</p><p>‘Seekers!’ One of the men exclaimed but Malek stepped forwards.</p><p>‘Its just me, Blazing Star and a friend. Relax!’ Malek said.</p><p>Then men rushed forwards and shone the flashlight in Malek’s eyes to confirm he was still human before checking the back of his neck to be sure.</p><p>‘You were gone for a month.’ One of the men said.</p><p>Malek laughed and patted the dark brown skinned man on the arm.</p><p>‘I had to have a honeymoon.’ Malek said with a grin.</p><p>‘Now help the ladies with the bags.’ Malek ordered and the two men surged towards us.</p><p>I let out an involuntary squeak as the men moved towards me, one held out an arm and I flinched away from him. I saw Blazing Star offload her bags gratefully before gesturing for me to do the same with a nod of her head. I removed my bag and gingerly handed it to the man. Malek led us out of there and Blazing Star lingered, she wrapped an arm around my shoulder and whispered in my ear.</p><p>‘Relax no harm will come to you here. They are far more afraid of you than you are of them.’ She said.</p><p>I looked at her with a horrified expression.</p><p>‘How are you so calm?’ I hissed under my breath.</p><p>I was sure that the pounding in my chest was as audible to others as it was to me, all I could hear in my head was my pounding heart. My heart had been pounding hard so much in the last two days that I was sure at some point it would just give out and I would collapse on the floor dead from all the anxiety I was feeling.</p><p>We continued down a corridor hewn into the rock before coming out into a large subterranean chamber. I saw small lights hung across the ceiling, each one connected by wires and they flickered slightly giving the chamber a yellow hue. The chamber seemed to be hewn from the rock itself and was clearly man made, having been  curved into shape by large machines long ago. There were dozens of tents set up all over the place with tables near them and several had cooking pots in front of the tents.</p><p>There were over fifty humans here, many of them children who ran around playing with soccer balls. The moment we entered all eyes fell on us and there was silence as the people looked at me and Blazing Star. A few people shifted away from us and I saw a handful of people reach for pistols holstered at their hips. Blazing Star stepped forwards, she snatched a bag from one of the men and raised it into the air.</p><p>‘We come with goodies.’ She said.</p><p>This seemed to break the tension in the chamber and the people went back to doing what they were doing before. From a large tent to our left came a light brown skinned woman in her late fifties with grey hair and a faint red mark on her forehead. On either side of her walked two men, one of them was in his thirties while the other, clearly the brother of the first looked to be in his twenties. He had light brown skin and a goatee that was in the midst of being grown out. Like Malek these men were bristling with muscles and the younger man looked at me with killer intent, as he approached me the first thing he did was spit on the ground near by foot. I stepped away from him wide eyed.</p><p>‘You marry one of them and then you bring more!’ The younger man spat.</p><p>‘Emir calm down, she’s a friend.’ Malek said.</p><p>Emir drew a pistol before pointing it at me, years of training took over and I reacted. Before my conscious mind could stop me my hand pushed his gun aside, then I grabbed his wrist, twisted and pulled the gun out of his hands. At once three nearby humans raised their guns and pointed them at me.</p><p>‘Emily put that down!’ Blazing Star hissed and swatted the weapon out of my hands. The gun clatter across the ground and Emir looked at me shocked.</p><p>‘She’s a friend hah!’ Emir snarled as he scooped up his gun and kept it low as he stepped away from me.</p><p>Humans were closing in on us now, I counted at least twelve and my heart was pounding hard i  my chest. I glanced around afraid of them, I saw killer intent in their eyes and I remembered the blond haired man who shot my father. I saw that monster lurking in the faces of each human as they approached us. I began to hyperventilate as they walked towards us, the woman with the red mark on her head was shouting something and Malek was arguing with her loudly.</p><p>To me the sounds of shouting sounded akin to animals growling before they attacked. My chest heaved up and down hard as I turned around, more were coming now, I saw human children approach us, their faces were the faces of coiled snakes ready to strike. I saw Malek look at me and I saw the truth behind his eyes, he was not a man but a lion ready to rip in mine and Blazing Star’s throats.</p><p>‘Emily?’ Blazing Star asked, her eyes wide when she saw me.</p><p>All conversation stopped and all eyes bore into me. I staggered away from them, my head getting heavy as I heaved in deep breaths. I heard Blazing Star shout something as my eyes fluttered, the next thing I knew I was falling, darkness overwhelmed me and the last I remember seeing was Emir rushing over to grab me.</p>
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